Metallic blue bike

3:18 AM,
Nov. 2, 2013

Written by

Ron Grubb

It was a gray, wintry afternoon as Christmas was nearing and mom asked me to ride my bike to North Berne and pick up a loaf of bread from Mrs. Elick. You see, Mrs. Elick kept an old wooden cupboard on her front porch stocked with fresh Omar Bakery Bread, glazed donuts and the Eagle-Gazette. It was North Berne's version of a general store and it worked on the honor system - no cash register; you just left your money in the Mason jar.

We lived high on a ridge and to get anywhere you coasted down a series of long, often steep hills. I'd glided into North Berne on the momentum of Ruff's hill, but now my friend had ...